


Once Upon A Time

by out_there



Category: Sports Night
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-01-10
Updated: 2005-01-10
Packaged: 2017-10-15 12:55:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/161010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/out_there/pseuds/out_there
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan tells Casey a bedtime story. (A Sports Night fairytale.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Once Upon A Time

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to [](http://phoebesmum.livejournal.com/profile)[**phoebesmum**](http://phoebesmum.livejournal.com/) for betaing. As she said, it's _'how to write an AU without writing an AU_ '.

Once upon a time, in the land of fairytales, there were two rich and healthy kingdoms. One was ruled by an evil queen, and the other was ruled by a worthy king.

 _["King Dan?" Casey asked, looking over at Dan with amusement._

 _"King Casey, actually," Dan replied and rolled onto his back, continuing the story.]_

King Casey was a good and noble ruler …

 _["Noble?" Casey smirked and ran his fingers across Dan's bare chest._

 _"Casey, this is my story," Dan said, batting Casey's hand away. "Be quiet and listen."]_

... King Casey was a good and noble ruler who loved his people dearly ...

 _["And frequently," Casey added with a sly grin._

 _Dan scowled. "Be quiet and let me tell the story. Or I'll stop now, and you can admit that I tell better bedtime stories than you. It's your choice, Casey."_

 _"I'll be good." Casey smiled and settled down on the bed, lying with his arms behind his head. "Go ahead and prove your storytelling skills."]_

As it happened, one year King Casey's people suffered a devastating drought. The king was forced to go to the neighbouring kingdom and beg the evil queen for help. So he set off with his most faithful friends, Sir Dan and Lady Dana …

 _[Dan ignored Casey's snort.]_

… and went to the queen's palace.

When they arrived, the king was taken by the queen's incredible beauty and fell instantly in love with her. In fact, he was so blinded by her beauty that he couldn't see the truth. He couldn't see that Queen Lisa was actually the Wicked Witch of the Midwest …

 _["Dan, that's not exactly--" Casey started admonishing, and then caught the displeased expression on Dan's face. "Okay, I'm being quiet now."]_

The king refused to see the truth. Instead, he saw the last spark of good left in Queen Lisa's heart and asked her to marry him. She agreed, as long as he would move into her castle with her. He soon told his friends the good news. They tried to show him her faults but he wouldn't listen. When he threatened to banish them for spreading lies about his new bride, his friends realised it was a lost cause.

King Casey moved to the Witch Queen's kingdom, leaving his loyal adviser Isaac to care for his own lands.

Eventually, the king and queen had a son. Prince Charlie was sweet and kind, a gentle child with a heart of gold, for he had been created by the combination of a good king and the last spark of goodness in a powerful queen. He was smart and athletic, excelled in his schooling, and adored his father. Prince Charlie was a precious boy, and King Casey loved him more than anything else in the world.

Queen Lisa saw how strong this love was and became jealous. Out of this jealousy rose a spiteful plan.

 _["Dan," Casey warned and Dan looked over at the serious tone of voice. Casey stared at him intently. "Lisa would never do anything to hurt Charlie."_

 _Dan blinked at Casey. "Of course not."_

 _"Good, because the story …" Casey trailed off and looked away, sounding concerned._

 _"Casey, it's a story. You need a villain and you need a hero," Dan explained gently. "They may bear a slight resemblance to people I know, but that's purely coincidental."_

 _Casey nodded slowly and turned back to Danny. "Go on."]_

So, the next day, while the prince was at his lessons, she went to the king and told him to leave. She banished him from her lands, and ordered her guards to escort him back to his own kingdom. The king was shocked, but vastly outnumbered, and he had no choice but to leave.

When the prince returned from his lessons, the queen told him that King Casey had left to return to his home and had said that he never wanted to see Prince Charlie or Queen Lisa ever again.

 _["That's not fair," Casey objected._

 _Dan smiled at the sudden resemblance to Charlie. "She's the villain. She doesn't have to play fair."_

 _"It's still not fair," Casey muttered under his breath.]_

Under heavy guard, King Casey returned to his homeland. His heart cried out to turn around and find his son, but he knew that he could not do it alone. He didn't have the power to force Queen Lisa to give the prince to him. His people were peaceful and his army was small; her army was large and well-trained. If he tried to start a war over their son, a lot of his people would die for a cause that wouldn't be won. So, with a heavy heart, he returned to his childhood home.

On the way back to his castle, he felt guilty, suddenly realising how little he had thought of his homeland after moving away. Although he had not paid attention to his lands or his people while he had lived happily with Queen Lisa, he found that both were healthy and prosperous. He realised that Isaac had looked after the people well and vowed to himself that he would not forget them again.

When he arrived at the castle, he expected it to be empty and bare. He had not returned here for many, many years, and was surprised that it was warm and well-lit. As he entered the outer doors, he heard music and saw the shadows of people eating and laughing inside. Walking inside, he was surrounded by the happy cries of his friends and found himself sincerely embraced. They sat him down, and gave him a plate of warm food and a glass of good wine, and told him how pleased they were to see him again.

As King Casey ate, Sir Dan told him that they had all believed that Queen Lisa would eventually show her true colours and that he would return to them. Accordingly, his friends had decided to live here, to keep the castle warm and clean, and to wait for his return. Sir Dan and Lady Dana had also stayed to help Isaac run the country, and the three of them had ensured that it remained the peaceful and thriving land that he had left.

And so, King Casey spent the next few months surrounded by his friends, his talented adviser Isaac and his friends Sir Dan and Lady Dana. He got to know Lady Dana's lady-in-waiting, the fair maid Natalie, and her steward, Jeremy. He became friends with them, travelled and hunted across the countryside, but he could not overcome the despair in his heart.

Sir Dan noticed that the king's smile was not as bright, and asked him the reason for his misery.

King Casey told him the whole sordid story, explaining how he could no longer see his beloved son. Sir Dan ranted against the queen and fumed on his friend's behalf, but realised by the look on King Casey's face that this would not help the king.

Over the next week, Sir Dan laughed and joked, trying to cheer the king up, but nothing worked. Eventually, Sir Dan told Lady Dana the story and they came to a plan to help their king. Together, they organised for the king to be kept busy. He rode in the morning, feasted at midday, hunted in the afternoons, and visited his people in the evenings. Together, they made sure that King Casey would barely have a moment to himself.

They thought that if they could distract the king from his broken heart, eventually it would heal. But their attempts were in vain. The king remained as morose and heartbroken as ever.

They realised that the only thing that would make their king's smile bright again would be his son. They thought about this for a while, and then came up with a daring plan to sneak into the queen's castle and kidnap Prince Charlie, and return him to his father. They listened carefully to the king's stories about the Queen's castle and with Jeremy's help, had drawn themselves a rough map of the castle. They knew that King Casey would be concerned for them, and would forbid them from going, so they kept it a secret. Lady Dana arranged for King Casey and Isaac to go hunting in the northernmost forests for a week. It would allow her and Sir Dan time to go to the queen's castle and back, before King Casey returned.

They waited until King Casey left, and then packed their horses and set out. They were brave and courageous, and had carefully worked out the details of their scheme. It would take them half a day to travel there, and half a day to travel back, so Lady Dana warned Natalie and Jeremy not to expect them until the following night.

Natalie and Jeremy busied themselves making a room for the prince. The next day they looked for teachers to school the boy and organised a large meal to welcome him, but Sir Dan and Lady Dana did not return at sunset. They waited all night but by the following dawn their absent friends were still absent. The fair maid Natalie started to panic, worried for Lady Dana, but Jeremy convinced her to wait, to give them another day to return. When they had not returned by the next dawn, Natalie decided to go rescue them.  
Jeremy was in love with the fair maid, so he convinced her to let him come too. However, he was also a very loyal young man. Against Natalie's wishes, he wrote a letter for the king and left it in the castle. If he and Natalie did not return, the king would need to know what had happened and what they were doing.

Jeremy and Natalie changed into plain, common clothes and set off. They rode at a steady pace, not daring to ride too fast lest they attract the queen's attention, and reached her castle a few hours before sunset.

Natalie wanted to storm the castle immediately, but Jeremy persuaded her to wait, pointing out the palace guards stationed around the main gate. Natalie recalled that the Lady Dana had mentioned a huge tree that grew just beyond the castle walls, so they took their horses around the back of the castle to find this tree.

It wasn't hard to find. The tree had been growing for over a hundred years and its trunk was as wide as a horse was tall. It grew outside the castle walls, but its big, broad, branches stretched all the way over the castle courtyards.

They tethered their horses to the base of the tree and decided to climb. Jeremy started first and then tried to hold a hand out to his fair love. She refused his help and hitched up her skirts instead. Remembering a childhood of climbing trees and playing with the boys of her village, Natalie pulled herself up and quickly surpassed Jeremy. She then sat on a strong branch, waiting for him.

Jeremy climbed up to meet her and then led them cautiously along the branch. It was the lowest branch to breach the castle walls but it still rose high above the low rooftops of the outer buildings. They would have to jump down. Jeremy reached the end first and tried to steel himself to jump.

Now, this young man was not a coward, but he had always been afraid of heights. The distance he had to jump was less than the height of two men, but to him it seemed the height of a mountain. He was frozen in terror, too afraid to jump down and too embarrassed to turn back, when he heard an ominous creak behind him. Looking back at the frightened face of Natalie, he realised that the branch was breaking under their combined weight.

Grabbing Natalie's hand, he yelled at her to jump, and they leapt off the branch together. They landed with a muffled groan, hurt but not wounded, and lay on the tiled roof as they heard the cracks grow louder. Sitting up, they watched as the mighty branch went crashing into the empty courtyard below.

Suddenly, guards came rushing into the courtyard, running from every direction and making sure no one was hurt. Jeremy saw their chance and together, they quickly climbed down the opposite wall. Out of sight of the courtyard, they shimmied through an open window and ran downstairs, heading to where Lady Dana had told them the dungeons were.

Reaching the dungeons, they found the guards' place empty. Jeremy started looking for the keys as Natalie walked down the corridor searching for the cell that held their friends. By the time Jeremy found the keys, Natalie was up to the last cell. Looking inside, Natalie saw bare walls and two makeshift beds of straw. On one of these harsh beds, Lady Dana lay fast asleep. Jeremy fumbled with the keys and unlocked the heavy bolt, freeing their lady.

However, when they went to wake her, she wouldn't stir. She simply lay there, gently snoring. It didn't matter how hard they shook her or how loud they yelled, she remained asleep.

Realising that the Witch Queen must have cast some kind of spell or curse on Lady Dana, her loyal servants pulled her out of bed and carried her out of the cell. They placed her in the guard's chair as they carefully checked the other cells, thinking that Sir Dan may have been hiding as part of some clever plan. They called out for Sir Dan as they searched, but all the other cells were empty. Sir Dan was not there.

Hoping that Sir Dan had already escaped, they quickly made their way to Prince Charlie's rooms. Luckily, most of the guards were still busy clearing the courtyard, so they managed to carry Lady Dana there without being caught. As they approached, they heard a child's laughter. Following the sound they were delighted at the sight that met them. Prince Charlie, the exact image of his father at that age, was playing in the centre of the room, laughing with Sir Dan.

They ran into the room, trying to explain about Lady Dana's slumber. They were overjoyed to find the prince and the knight, but when they tried to leave, Sir Dan refused. He said that Prince Charlie was happy here and that this was his home. Natalie was speechless, but Jeremy begged his friend to come with them before the guards returned.

Panicking at the thought of the guards returning, Jeremy grabbed the prince's hand and was stopped by Sir Dan's sword. Sir Dan pulled Prince Charlie behind him, physically sheltering him from his shocked friends, and said that he would protect the prince with his life. As they had been his friends, he would let them leave with Lady Dana, but Prince Charlie belonged here with his mother and with Sir Dan.

Natalie asked why he would want to stay here and Sir Dan looked confused, explaining carefully that he loved Queen Lisa, that he had loved her for years.

 _[Casey sat up quickly, looking worried. "He didn't really love her, right? During their marriage, he wasn't secretly in love with her, was he?"_

 _"Casey, Casey, Casey," Dan said gently, shaking his head. He leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Casey's cheek. "It's just a story."_

 _"I know that, Danny," Casey said and squinted at him, obviously annoyed by the patronising tone. Casey sounded irritated, but his eyes still held a shadow of that concerned look. "But I didn't think Sir Dan was the type of guy who'd lie to his best friend for years."_

 _"That's harsh," Dan said with mock hurt and settled down against Casey's side._

 _Casey wrapped an arm around Dan's shoulders. "So, was he in love with her? Really?"_

 _"I think you should just wait and find out," Dan replied smugly and Casey huffed impatiently.]_

Seeing that Sir Dan was utterly serious, and knowing his skill with a sword, Jeremy and Natalie carried Lady Dana out the door. Although she didn't want to leave, Natalie knew that it was better than staying and all three of them being captured by the evil queen. As they ran out of the castle, she promised herself that they would return for the prince and the knight, as soon as they knew that Lady Dana was safe.

After hours of riding, they returned to their homeland to find King Casey pacing outside the castle. He was ranting to Isaac about their brash thoughtlessness and as soon as they rode up, he turned his bad temper on them. He had returned from the hunting trip early with a prize stag and had found them gone. After reading Jeremy's letter, he had no choice but to sit around and wait for their return. He couldn't believe that they had been so foolish as to sneak into Queen Lisa's palace. They could have easily been killed, or worse.

He was touched that his friends had risked so much for his happiness, but was too worried about them to be kind when they returned. Jeremy and Natalie cringed under the king's onslaught, but were unable to get a word in edgeways. The king was still yelling at them as they climbed down from the horses, and only stopped when he realised that something was wrong with Lady Dana. He carried her inside, with Natalie and Jeremy at his heels, both trying to tell him the story at the same time. When she was settled in her bed, he summoned a nurse to watch over her, and led the other two into the dining room to discuss this further.

King Casey could not believe that Sir Dan would betray him so easily. He refused to believe that his loyal friend, someone he considered so dear to his own heart, could do that to him. He told the others that they must have been mistaken, but they assured him that it had been Sir Dan, and that he had been sincere. The king argued that Sir Dan was known for his cunning and guile, and that this must be part of a plot to rescue Charlie. He must have known that they only had two horses and that they would not have been able to escape with three extra people. Natalie and Jeremy could only shake their heads, trying to convince the king otherwise, but he would not listen.

The king waited, day after day, for Sir Dan to return. After the third day, he lost his temper and almost accused his friends of lying, but he still could not believe that the knight would not return. He continued to wait, until a week, and then two, had slipped by. While he waited, the best doctors of his land treated Lady Dana. They tried everything they could, but she refused to wake. Eventually, Isaac sent for the witches and wizards of the land to come see her, but they said the same thing. No one could be sure what was causing her sleep. They knew that the Witch Queen had cast a spell, but they were not strong enough to reverse it. The only one who could do that was the Witch Queen herself.

After two weeks, Isaac approached the king and told him of the healers' suggestion. King Casey had grown restless waiting for Sir Dan's return and decreed that he would go and confront the queen himself.

His friends were concerned, and said that it was far too dangerous. Surely the queen would kill him and claim his land as her own. Try as they might, they could not convince him to change his mind, so instead, they forced him to take them with him. It would be easier with more horses, they told him. It would be safer with more people, they said. In the end, they threatened to ride out and follow him if he didn't let them come. Realising they would not be persuaded otherwise, King Casey agreed to let them come, so long as someone remained to look over Lady Dana. As he was no longer as young or as fit as he once was, Isaac volunteered to stay and organised for the others to leave at dawn.

And so, with his armour polished and his sword sharpened, King Casey set off the next day with his faithful friends by his side. Contrary to their expectations, the ride there was uneventful. Most of the country seemed to be preoccupied with celebrating the queen's upcoming birthday. There were parties and fireworks being arranged, and wagons of food being shipped to the palace for the special feast. King Casey rolled his eyes at the spectacle but Jeremy pointed out that it would make it easy for them to sneak in. As the branch had broken, they probably would not be able to climb into the palace, but the huge gatherings would make it difficult for the palace guards to spot them.

When they arrived at the palace they saw that it was a hive of activity. The celebrations had not started yet, but there were wagons of food and wine entering, and empty wagons leaving, every few minutes. Seeing this, they tethered their horses outside the palace walls and crept around the surrounding village, searching for a stopped wagon. They found one full of apples, sitting outside the tavern. They climbed inside and hid at the back, waiting until it eventually started moving.

They lay still as statues, almost holding their breaths, as they heard the sound of the guards' voices asking about the content of the wagon. The driver rumbled that it was apples, ordered especially by the cooks, and after a heart-wrenching moment, they felt the wagon start to move toward the kitchens.

King Casey stuck his head out and then gestured to the others that it was safe. When Jeremy and Natalie climbed down, they saw that they were in one of the castle's storerooms. The kitchen staff must have been too busy and had left the wagon here to unpack later. Looking around, they saw a pair of large wooden doors leading outside, and a small door that led inside the castle.

They pushed at the smaller door but it wouldn't move. Peeking through the doorway, Natalie saw that the door was barred with a heavy beam of wood. Together, Jeremy and King Casey pried their swords through the gaps at either side of the door and heaved at the beam until it lifted and fell to the floor with a loud thump. Holding their swords firmly, they waited to see if anyone would come to investigate the noise, but no-one appeared.

They opened the door and the king led them up corridors and stairways, straight to Prince Charlie's rooms. They burst in but the rooms were empty. Sitting down, the king tried to plan their next act. The castle was vast and full of guards, so it would be impossible to search it room by room. With the queen's birthday celebrations in place, he wasn't sure where she was or what Prince Charlie would be doing. The feast would start much later that night and the queen could have spent the day in the countryside, the way she had in previous years. With a sinking feeling, the king realised that Queen Lisa and Prince Charlie might not even be at the castle.

King Casey was about to declare it hopeless, and ask for his friends' suggestions, when the sound of footsteps drew him out of his thoughts. He grabbed his friends and ran into the prince's closet to hide.

There were two sets of footsteps steadily walking closer. They paused and the king recognised Queen Lisa's silvery laugh. In the darkness, he glanced at the others and saw from their curious, cautious expressions that they didn't know who was in the room. He heard the low rumble of Sir Dan's voice but the heavy closet door muffled his words. King Casey was still concentrating on what the knight had said when the closet door was suddenly opened.

Queen Lisa laughed as they stepped out, hands on their swords. She mocked them and asked if they really thought that such a powerful witch would not know what was happening in her own castle. Jeremy and Natalie stared at her with wide eyes as she told them that she had allowed them to escape with Lady Dana, only because it suited her.

King Casey stood firm, demanding that she return his friends and his son …

 _["And this is where she realises that he's a dashing hero and apologises?" Casey mumbled into Dan's hair._

 _Dan twisted his neck and gave Casey a sharp look. "I can stop now. You don't have to listen to the end of the story."_

 _"No," Casey said, a little too vehemently._

 _Dan cocked an eyebrow at him. "No?"_

 _"I want to hear the end," Casey amended, but Dan kept watching him dubiously. "It's not a fair comparison unless I listen to the end, right?"_

 _Dan settled back with his head leaning on Casey's shoulder and stared up at the ceiling. "Okay."]_

The queen smirked at him, saying that he should be happy to be granted half of his request. She would leave him his friends, but she would make sure that he never saw his son again. He should be thankful for her generosity.

Needless to say, King Casey was infuriated by her words. Then he saw the scheming expression on Jeremy's face and tried to stall for time while Jeremy thought of a plan. Turning back to the queen, he told her that as long as Lady Dana remained asleep and Sir Dan remained here, he had neither his friends nor his son. If she expected him to leave, she needed to return Lady Dana to health.

Smiling spitefully, the queen agreed to reverse Lady Dana's curse. She started reciting powerful words of magic and they watched each word burst into a bright flash of colour as she spoke. Natalie was awestruck, but her concern for Lady Dana forced her to speak. In a tremulous voice, she asked the queen how they could be sure that Lady Dana was healed. The queen replied by pointing at a large mirror on the wall. Staring at the glass, Natalie saw it form a picture of a figure in bed. Squinting at it, she realised it was Lady Dana, sitting up and stretching her arms as she yawned. As Lady Dana started to look around in confusion, the picture faded until Natalie could only see her own relieved reflection.

Looking over at Jeremy, the king saw that the young man was still lost in thought, so he spoke to keep the queen distracted and to play for time. He agreed that the queen had returned the Lady Dana to them, but asked what she would do about Sir Dan. The queen replied that she had only offered to return the king's friends. It was the king who was assuming that Sir Dan was still his friend, or that he even wished to return.

Horrified at the queen's knowing voice, the king turned to Sir Dan and asked him plainly if they were still friends. Sir Dan stood beside the queen and looked straight at King Casey. He spoke sincerely, saying that love was more important than friendship and that for love, you should sacrifice everything.

The king cringed, remembering saying those same words when Sir Dan had warned him not to marry Queen Lisa. He declared to the knight that he was wrong. True love would not make you turn your back on people you cared about.

An ugly expression marred Sir Dan's face as he sneered that King Casey only said that now because he was jealous. He taunted that because King Casey had lost Queen Lisa's love, he was now trying to trick Sir Dan out of his own chance of happiness.

Aghast, the king denied it, but the more he denied it, the more convinced Sir Dan became. The discussion turned into shouts, and in his temper, the king made the mistake of resting his hand upon the hilt of his sword. Sir Dan seized upon the subtle threat and drew his own sword. The knight cried out that they would settle this as men and declared that they would fight to the death for the love of the queen. Natalie and Jeremy begged for the knight to stop this foolishness, but the queen smiled at Sir Dan and encouraged him.

The king listened to the worried voices of his friends and realised the tragedy about to take place. They were both excellent swordsmen and this fight would end in bloodshed. Returning his sword to its scabbard, he pleaded with the knight to resolve this peacefully. Sir Dan shook his head and lunged at the king, forcing King Casey to draw his sword to defend himself.

Evenly matched, they lunged and parried, attacked and defended, while King Casey tried to make the knight see sense. He tried to make the knight see how foolish this was, to see that Queen Lisa would not encourage this if she actually loved him, but that just made the knight attack him brutally, snarling that the king lied.

Moving swiftly, King Casey circled out of Sir Dan's reach and tried to remind him of their friendship. He reminisced about how they had met so many years ago, of the warm spring day when they had both gone hunting. Stepping backwards, the king tripped and fell, but Sir Dan's swing paused and his face froze.

Scrambling to his feet, the king watched his friend's face closely and saw those blank eyes briefly flare with an unnatural, magical light and then the murderous expression returned. Suddenly, the king understood Sir Dan's abrupt change of heart. He hadn't fallen in love with Queen Lisa; he had fallen under her spell.

Standing up, King Casey attacked the knight boldly, punctuating each thrust with a memory of their friendship. He told the knight of swimming in lakes during summer and creeping through forests during fall. With each memory, the king took advantage of that moment of blank shock and pushed forwards. The king described learning to shoot arrows together, practising their swordsmanship, and the first time they got drunk. He told Sir Dan how the knight had always cared for him and protected him, how Sir Dan had warned him about Queen Lisa but had welcomed him back with open arms when he returned.

He recited the ways that the knight had cared for him since his return and the way that, at times, the only thing that stopped him from sinking into total despair was Sir Dan's bright smile and sincere laugh. He was happiest when Sir Dan smiled at him, and felt safest when Sir Dan was watching over him. He told the knight that nothing made him feel more alive than the sound of Sir Dan's voice and the warmth of the knight's arm around his shoulders.

Forcing the sword from the knight's hand, the king stilled, surprised by the depth of his own feelings. Sir Dan blinked at him emptily and then the malice burned bright in his eyes. He called King Casey a coward and taunted that he wasn't brave enough to kill for the queen's love.

King Casey shook his head. Knowing that in his cursed state Sir Dan would not understand, he took the knight by the shoulders and leaned forward. Softly, he said that he refused to leave without Sir Dan. It would be impossible to live knowing that he'd left behind the two people he loved most. Saying this, he leaned closer and pressed his lips to Sir Dan's, knowing that he had no hope of defeating the queen, but couldn't leave.

Pulling back, he closed his eyes and swallowed, preparing himself to tell Natalie and Jeremy to run to safety. But when he opened his eyes, Sir Dan stood there, smiling joyously at him, and when he turned, an old hag stood in the beautiful queen's place. Bewildered, the king asked what had happened and Sir Dan replied that he had broken the Witch Queen's spell.

King Casey was still confused and looked questioningly to his friends. Natalie looked just as confused as he felt, but Jeremy looked thoughtful. Slowly, Jeremy explained that there was only one thing more powerful than the strongest magic and that was a kiss of true love. By kissing the knight, the queen's magic was overcome and her powers were lost.

The king looked to the old hag for confirmation and she nodded dejectedly. She told them it was true. She was now defenceless and could not stop him from taking her son away. The king told her that she could keep her kingdom, but she would be killed if she was found on his lands. He told her that the prince would come and live with him, but she looked so hopeless and so sad that King Casey took pity on her. He decreed that she could still see their son, and that he would come and visit her every second weekend. The queen gratefully agreed.

After saying this, the king and his friends went to find Prince Charlie and return to their home. Riding back to his castle, the King suddenly found himself very happy. He had a good home and was surrounded by close friends, who cared enough for him that they had risked their lives to help him. But even better than that, he had recovered his beloved son and had discovered something that had waited years for him: his true love.

 _["The end," Dan concluded. Grinning, he waited for Casey's reaction. "Your verdict?"_

 _Casey stretched his neck, looking thoughtful. "I see why Charlie prefers your bedtime stories."_

 _Dan's grin became smug. "It's a gift."_

 _"It certainly is," Casey agreed, and kissed Dan soundly. Pulling back slightly, he said, "So. True love, huh?"_

 _"Mmm-hmm," Dan replied, nuzzling the side of Casey's neck._

 _Casey gasped lightly and tilted his chin to give Dan easier access. "It's a powerful force."_

 _"In the world of fairytales," Dan said and his breath whispered across Casey's damp skin, "it's the most powerful force there is."_

 _"It's a pretty powerful force here, too," Casey said huskily and muffled Dan's reply in a kiss.]_

...And they lived happily ever after.


End file.
